WEBB CITY, Mo. — Every time area-rivals Carl Junction and Webb City meet up on the volleyball court, you get the best out of both teams.
In a rematch of last season’s district title clash, Wednesday night’s Class 4 District 11 championship match inside the Cardinal Dome was no different, as two of the best teams in the state of Missouri battled in a tightly-contested matchup that saw the Bulldogs walk away with a 25-19, 25-19, 25-23 sweep of the Cardinals to earn the right of playing in the sectional round of the state tournament.
“It’s a little surreal right now,” Carl Junction coach Cheryl Sharples said. “You try to take it all in, but I am just so proud of my kids. They played so well tonight. I thought the most important thing was for us to stay grounded and play our game, forcing them to beat us. I felt like if we could do that, good things would happen, and they did.”
“I am very proud of my girls,” Webb City coach Rhonda Lawrence said. “We played very well, and we had worked on some strategic things that we used, and they worked, to help us get those close scores. (Carl Junction) is a very good team and I felt like we gave them as good of a run as anyone else.”
Aside from the district championship, it was also a record-setting evening for the Bulldogs, as sophomore setter Logan Jones set a new single-season record for assists. Jones finished with 38 assists in the win over the Cardinals, giving her 859 total assists in 87 sets played for the season for a new school record. Jones surpassed Bradyn Wall’s mark of 851 assists in 91 sets during the 2013-14 season.
“That is great,” Sharples said of Jones’ record. “She is just a sophomore, so she has a lot left to accomplish. I thought she did a really great job of getting the ball to our hitters and putting them in a position to be successful. She does that game in and game out for us.”
Webb City’s season ends with a 24-8-1 record, with the Cardinals graduating five seniors—Maddy Peeples, Sage Crane, Abigail Stork, Anna Hettinger and Ella Cates.
“I have been extremely proud of my girls all year long,” Lawrence said. “We’ve had to deal with a lot of different lineup shifts — and not necessarily COVID-related, just something weird here and there — and they have been so resilient. That, to me, teaches them about so much more than just volleyball. … I couldn’t be more proud to be the coach of Webb City volleyball.”
“This is going to be rough,” Lawrence continued about losing her seniors. “Maddy has been a huge part of our offense for the last two years. Sage has been a staple for us for the last three years. Her and Abby have been joined at the hip. Anna has been our setter the last two years, and I thought she really stepped up tonight. And Ella did a great job playing the right side any time I called on her. Those are huge holes to fill.”
A five-point service run by Jill Kennedy early in the first set staked Carl Junction to an 8-3 lead. Salma Lewis had two kills, with Jones adding one.
Webb City scored five on the next six points to trim the lead to 9-8, with Peeples coming away with three kills in that span, with an ace from Crane.
Carl Junction held a 22-19 lead when Kennedy earned a block at the net, which was followed up by two errors from Webb City to close the first set in favor of the Bulldogs. Lewis had eight kills in the opening game.
“I thought it was really important to come out and take that first set,” Sharples said. “That was really key for us because they have taken the first set from us twice (this season). You just keep putting doubt in their heads when you can take a set away from them, and I felt like that gave us a mental edge.”
“Salma was really dominant,” Sharples said of Lewis’ first set. “She was seeing the block really well and hitting around it, taking what they were giving her and just executing.”
Olivia Vediz had a four-point service run early in the second set, which included three aces and a kill by Jessa Hylton, to give Carl Junction an 8-6 advantage. The Cardinals answered with two kills from Brenda Lawrence to go along with a kill and block from Mackenzie Storm to climb back in front for an 11-9 margin.
Webb City led 18-17 late when Hylton earned a kill for CJ to force a sideout, with Vediz coming up big again in service to give the Bulldogs all of the momentum. Carl Junction scored four straight points on two errors, an ace and a kill by Hylton to stretch the lead to 22-18.
A kill from Webb City’s Kate Brownfield and Hylton led to each team trading sideouts before Hylton finished the set with back-to-back kills to put the Bulldogs on top two games to none. Carl Junction scored eight of the final nine points, with Hylton accounting for five kills.
“We talked about that in the timeout,” Sharples said of her team’s play to close the second set. “I said, ‘Guys, do you realize what we were down here before we came back and took control?’ Our serving got them out of system quite a bit, which made them go to one option for a hitter, and that makes it so much easier on our defense and blocking.”
“Jessa is an amazing hitter,” Lewis said. “Our energy is so important for this team. I think since we are all so close, being able to build each other up really helps us gain momentum.”
Vediz’s six-point service run after a sideout early in the third set gave Carl Junction a 14-6 advantage. Maggie Brown and Kennedy had two kills each, with Hylton coming away with a kill and block.
Webb City didn’t go away without a fight. After three consecutive sideouts, a three-point service run from Kyah Sanborn brought the Cardinals within striking distance at 15-11. Webb City trimmed the deficit to one, 23-22, late in the match after a kill and a block from Storm followed by a Bulldog attack error.
“Mackenzie has been a big presence for us all year, and I think tonight capped it off in showing how good she is at this point,” Lawrence said. “I can’t wait to see what she does next year because she is going to be a beast.”
“I knew they weren’t going to go away,” Sharples said of Webb City’s fight in the third set. “That lead that we got on them was important, but I think we started to get a little tight because we started thinking about winning. We talked about re-grounding ourselves … and going to work one point at a time.”
Carl Junction and Webb City traded sideouts to close the third set, with Lewis earning kills on the 24th and 25th points to seal the win.
“That felt amazing,” Lewis said. “I am so happy we were able to pull this win off. It feels great.”
STATS
Lewis led the way for the Bulldogs with a team-high 23 kills, while Hylton was next in line with 16. Vediz had three aces and a team-high 23 digs, while Kennedy led the team with four blocks.
Hettinger finished with three aces and a team-high 18 assists, while Peeples had a team-high 10 kills. Crane had 19 digs, while Storm finished with six blocks.
UP NEXT
Carl Junction (24-6) hosts Willard (27-3-1) in the sectional round of the state tournament on Saturday.
“Here’s the thing, I think that when we are playing well, we are as good as any team out there,” Sharples said. “I think if we can stay grounded and play our game, we have as good a shot as anybody.”
